The irony isn’t totally lost on me that, as I sit chatting to Steven Lamb, author of the new Cheese & Dairy: River Cottage Handbook, he is almost through the month of “Veganuary”. The slightly unpronounceable term given to undertaking a January of veganism, it's hard to imagine a man so devoted to dairy being able to do even a week but, as he tells me, he feels great for it.

Steven is originally from Manchester but his life these days is firmly fixed in the environs of the River Cottage Headquarters on the Devon/Dorset border, where we meet to chat all things cheese. Steven is the curing and smoking expert at the River Cottage empire, headed as it is by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and he’s been a firm part of the team for well over a decade. He may be well known for his curing capabilities but, as we chat, it’s evident he has a deep and innate passion for all things dairy, too.

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“Growing up, we were never allowed cheese that was further afield from Cheshire, because it wasn’t really available and you stuck with what you knew,” he tells me. “One of my earliest memories is sitting in the back yard of the house, eating a big wedge of Cheshire cheese. I can still remember the waxy paper it was wrapped up in and the crumbly texture.”

His early career was a far cry from the idyllic farm on which he now spends many a day. He worked in new media, inaugurating Big Brother into the UK, “which was not aspirational, and what Hugh was doing was so inspirational”, so he left to join the River Cottage in 2005. “I started hosting events and found myself surrounded by experts and learning about sustainability, slipstreaming Hugh on this journey. I was completely taken by it – it wasn’t a job, it felt like a way of life.” And his love of cheese has only grown since that early wedge of Cheshire. “Have you ever had a cheese so strong it leaves you with ripples in the roof of your mouth?” he asks me with obvious glee. “It’s like the tide going out. Cheese, with one bite, can hit all taste sensations – it's how you really start engaging with flavour.”

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His dairy journey has led to the publication of the new River Cottage handbook, which covers everything from the ethics of dairy farming to varying types of milk, from churning your own butter at home to delectable cheese and yoghurt recipes. Steven’s message is very much about getting stuck in and, not only trying as many different cheeses as you can, but attempting to make your own.

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“Cheese promotes a regionalism and invokes a great sense of pride in where you’re from,” he explains. “Wine and charcuterie and cheese and diary smack of the ‘terroir’ – they are fixed geographically and that’s what I love about them.” We discuss the incredible cheeses that can be found on his doorstep – Dorset Blue Vinney, Coastal Chedder and Rosary Ash Goats Cheese from Devon, to name but a few, though he reminds me there are fabulous cheeses up and down the country and he feels we aren’t making enough noise about them. “Usually in England, there is a reticence to shout about the products that we make. We're a bit soft about it, but in Italy, France and Spain, for example, there is great pride in the village bread and local cheese and no one is embarrassed about it.”

For those feeling a little intimidated at the idea of making cheese at home, Steven insists there are “lots of happy accidents to be made. What you have to embrace is this small microbial world of bacteria and microflora. They don’t invoke appetite – the subject matter can make people want to just wash their hands.” But he is adamant this mustn’t put people off. “Imagine yourself as the head of security at the best bacteria nightclub in town. You get rid of the bacteria you don’t want. I don’t pretend to know everything – there is an acceptance of science and craft – but there is also sorcery, this stuff that happens.”

He assures me that “things don’t go wrong that often but when they veer away from a normal route, things like texture, flavour and aroma come in and they are unique. Cheese has been made for millennia and it’s changed very little but, as an individual, you can put your own slant on things without introducing an element of danger.” And far from starting with an 18-month aged mature chedder, there are some wonderful recipes in his handbook that require very little kit (or skill). “I am kit averse,” he insists.

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One of the first cheeses he ever made, which is in the handbook itself, is a Labneh. “It’s as simple as taking a 500g tub of nice natural yoghurt, to which you add a level teaspoon of salt, you pop it in a cloth and you allow it to drain out. What is left is delicious; it’s a sort of ball of softened yogurt cheese that is heightened by the saltiness, but also has an additional sourness. You can pimp it up with garlic, chilli, pepper, herbs, whatever you fancy. For those seriously unsure, he notes that there is a troubleshooting page in the book. "I hope that’s not the most thumbed section the book! This isn’t a giant leap of faith, I promise. Things happen pretty quickly.”

Our conversation floats naturally on to the latest media backlash against dairy consumption in adults, the ebb and flow of ever-changing food fads and the overwhelming amount of information thrown at us these days thanks to the web. I expect Lamb to leap to the defence of dairy consumption, but he surprises me by stating that “you have to take notice of this stuff – we should eat less meat – and there is an enzyme in half the world’s population which, I believe, is probably averse to dairy. I think it’s something we’ve actually evolved into being able to accept.” But he quickly points out that it’s the source of one’s dairy that needs considering rather than dairy intake itself.

“My issue with dairy isn’t dietary, it’s ethical in many cases. The thing to really consider with dairy is from where it’s gleaned. There’s always an element of exploitation when you’re purposely getting a goat or sheep or cow pregnant in order to remove that milk product – that’s exploitative – and we’ve gone from keeping a few cows and taking a little bit of milk to this intense diary industry.”

He recognises sourcing high-welfare, organic dairy products is easier for some than others but “if you want to continue to eat dairy, you really should make a positive choice about the welfare scale you choose to shop at. I don’t want to sound like I’m preaching, but I would urge people towards the dairy industry that is organic; it’s governed by a set of principles you can trust."

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For those who love cheese (as I do – this was a no-brainer of an interview for me), the Cheese & Dairy: River Cottage Handbook No.16 is set to be a favourite and, having spent time with Steven, I can assure you there can be no one with a deeper understanding of, or passion for, the subject.

As Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall told me, “Steven has done a brilliant job of encouraging us all to recognise and celebrate the beauty and diversity of cheese, both as a food and an ingredient. More than that, he makes us want to have a go at making some. What I love about that is the certain knowledge that a cheese you make yourself will be different from everyone else’s. It will always have a bit of you in it (and sometimes a bit of ewe!). That’s something to relish and enjoy and keep coming back to. I know a lot of people are going to get a lot of fun and satisfaction from this book.”